#and will not sacrifice my own peace and wellbeing just for the sake of one

[coloursofaparadox]

i ✨️cannot sleep✨️ and vaguing about shit on the internet feels more cathartic than writing it out somewhere else. suffer.

[plural-affirmations]

I know I can't control who I split, but I feel like an asshole.

I (L) am friends with another system (S) and was acquaintances with one of S's friends (C) who was also a system. S and C knew each other for years, before S met me and before S knew they were even a system.

C died almost a year ago now. I don't have details but from what I understand it wasn't exactly.. Peaceful. C had a bunch of fictives from the same sources as us, but the one double between us wasn't a frequent fronter so it never came up much.

About a month after they died, we split a fictive of the same character that was one of their co-hosts and very close to S. He kept his distance for a bit, but eventually we worked it out enough to be okay around with each other. And then a few months later we split a double of a little that was in C's system, and S flat out asked us not to let her talk to/around them.

We split again recently. He's a double of C's main host. They were friends with S for nearly a decade. I'm honestly afraid to even tell S, much less let the new guy talk anywhere near them.

I know I can't control who I split. The ones who showed up are sourcemates to other fictives we have and we split easily. And I feel like an ass for telling them they can't talk in the main server all our friends are in, but I feel like potentially triggering S is also a horrible thing to do as a friend. I know they're not the same, they aren't introjects of the same people that were in C's system, but they're the same faces and same names.

I just don't know how to navigate any of this. I'm not used to dealing with death with singlets much less with systems and all of this. Sorry for the big word dump, I just don't really have anyone to talk to about this.

Oh, jeez. First of all, I'm incredibly sorry you're put into something like this. I can't even imagine how stressful it must be.

Second. You're not an asshole; you CANNOT control who you split. You're trying your best to navigate an extremely rough situation without stepping on anyone's toes. That alone is difficult, not even to mention the added nuance and complexities I'm not privy to.

Let me say it again: You. Are. Doing. Your. Best. That is literally all any of us on the planet can strive to do. You're not a bad person for existing, and neither are your system's introjects.

Personally, as much as it might not seem like the most appealing option, I would discuss this directly with S. You mentioned them being a system as well, so you've at least got the added understanding than if they were a singlet. It's important for everyone in this scenario to express themselves and open up communication; no one needs to stay silent in a time like this. Especially not while there's unspoken (or possibly hurt) feelings going around like bad cold.

Speaking of talking, have you tried communicating with your headmates in question about this? Like... asked how they're doing, what they think, etc. Because they might have insight I don't. They deserve to feel loved and valued like everyone else.

To me at least, in the long run, it's not really fair to keep them away from fronting in your own server; I imagine that's something of a safe haven for you&, so denying them that outlet seems... Not Great.

I guess it comes down to this: are you willing to sacrifice your& own comfort and wellbeing for the sake of staying vaguely peaceful with S? Because... well. This is my 2 cents worth, but I think you should always put your system first, even if it's hard to.

Anyways. I hope this helped even a little bit, or at least that having somewhere to talk about this was meaningful.

Stay safe, ok?

🖤💜💙💚💛

[persephones-closet]

Sometimes I don’t wanna be the girl. I wanna be the one that gets to have her own life and live in her separate place with full independence and able to make her own decisions on what car/decor/home she has. And just be together when it works out.

Being the girl means someone has to sacrifice something. And that’s always me. In order to get the guy, I have to give up my sanctuary. Give up my way of life. My solitude. My freedom. And it’s a risk. It’s not like I’d give everything up at once. I know I’d keep giving away pieces of myself until all that is left is someone who forgot all that she had in the first place.

I forgot what it was like to decorate without someone telling me no. I forgot what peace was like. It wasn’t compromise I had to do, it was outright forfeit for the sake of peace. I hated arguing and conflict so I would sacrifice everything I wanted.

I was pushed. I was told no. I was lied to, disregarded, ignored. It became a thing where he wanted to control my surroundings but also my identity. Dye my hair dark. Get a breast augmentation. And I even considered it.. but ultimately decided I’d had enough. It was unlivable.

And who is to say the next man wouldn’t be that way? Marriage is scary. Even if I wasn’t risking my financial wellbeing with someone, what if they started to turn into this control hungry monster? What if they made me a fixture in their life, where I’m along for the ride and I have no say in anything?

I sometimes get so nihilistic about things. Like relationships are never simple for me because I’m so fucked up. My avoidance. My neuroticism. I sometimes wish it was simple for me, where both myself and a man are always in perfect understanding.

The second something happens that I wasn’t expecting or hurts me, I shut down entirely and push them away. I don’t know any other way to handle it. My cope is to just walk away. I leave at the first sign. The vibes could just be off once and I’m out.

I always expect the worst and protect myself. Girls that try hard to look halfway conventionally attractive like me always have ugly bitches trying to steal their man for the validation of it. I’d rather just throw a man away before it ever got to that point because betrayal isn’t worth the suffering through wondering what I’m worth in their eyes.

But even without my past experience, the root of my trust issues and lack of respect just boils down to how my dad treated me. I may never get over that. I want to, for the right one I think I could, but I don’t know. I have the opportunity to… I want to. Just have to fight all my demons to try.

[techno-the-blade]

Why c!Tubbo is the most tragic character within the Dream SMP

@tannin-tele asked for it and I’m making it a separate post

TW: Breif talk of manipulation, possible suicide, and death.

I want to preface this by saying I’m newer than most to the fandom so I may miss/leave out some moments but I’m caught up enough to confidently have my own opinion like everyone else. ALSO IM ONLY TALKING ABOUT CHARACTERS HERE OBVIOUSLY!!!

I’m also aware Tubbo is just as morally gray as everyone else- I missed the stream the other day but I know Tubbo was really going after Ranboo while trying to “help” him get his memories back. But does anyone expect any character to come out of this smp sparkling and perfect? Honestly all things considered, Tubbo is doing better than a lot of them.

All of my points will take place starting from the creation of L’manburg up to present day. Tubbo has always been Tommy’s best friend- the sidekick, the deuteragonist, the support system. He is just as capable, intelligent, and strong as anyone else in the server, and while he may waver when it comes to being opinionated, he is more cognizant and genuinely caring than most. He’s a team player always, looking out for the group. He played his part in the revolution, worked to still benefit [L’]Manburg under the Schlatt administration, tried to make his country happy as president, and even wants to create peace for whoever needs it in Snowchester. He doesn’t care about power or discs like the others. He cares about making the world better and keeping people happy.

Wilbur didn’t trust Tubbo with much of anything, despite Tubbo being loyal from the start and extremely talented. The only time he did trust Tubbo with anything was when Tubbo chose to risk everything by being a spy (after Schaltt intentionally separated him from the og L’manburg trio). Tubbo threw himself under the bus constantly for Pogtopia yet Wilbur and the others still were suspicious of him.

Schlatt was, well, Schlatt. He took Tubbo away and every day became a moral dilemma for him- how can he both benefit the wellbeing of everyone in Manburg while also supporting Pogtopia? Not to mention Schlatt made him decorate his own execution.

An execution where he was betrayed by everyone. Schlatt tricked him, Quackity watched, the audience watched, Wilbur was too concerned with the button, Technoblade shot him twice despite them being on the same side (he claims he had to because of peer pressure but he literally turned around and killed everyone anyways), and Tommy only came for him after he was killed.

He only became president to act as a scapegoat for Wilbur’s actions- if L’manburg was going to survive the first bombing, everything would fall on Tubbo’s shoulders. In fact, everything that happened in the SMP that was orchestrated by feuding adults somehow got pinned onto Tubbo (and tommy but at least no one expected constant perfection from Tommy). Tubbo was making constant personal sacrifices to try and satisfy everyone in the long run.

Quackity, who betrayed him before, used Tubbo’s good nature and naivety to carry out his own plots (the butcher army, anyone?).

Ranboo, while maybe forgetting in the moment he shouldn’t conspire with the enemies, withheld information from Tubbo and lied to his face about true loyalty. Ranboo made Tubbo so happy towards the end of his presidency, he really trusted him when there was no one else.

He was forced by external forces (the audience, L’manburg, Dream) to exile his best friend- the one person who was always by his side, never using/betraying him like the others. He gave up his support system simply because it meant the rest of the country would be happy. And Dream went out of his way to make sure Tubbo couldn’t have any connection with Tommy, up until the point where Tubbo thought he lost his best friend and their last moments together were Tubbo exiling him. Imagine taking the full blame for your best friend losing everything and then possibly taking his own life.

Tubbo had to watch his best friend supposedly then return with the enemy and a newfound affinity for violence. Tommy blamed Tubbo like everyone else, and wouldn’t listen to Tubbo’s side of the story. Tubbo watched the only other person as loyal to L’manburg as he was steal, destroy, and kill for the sake of his discs. And Tubbo felt even more alone.

Don’t even get me started on “the discs were more important to me than you ever were”.

Dream even canonically admitted to manipulating Tubbo. Dream’s manipulation of Tubbo was so well hidden under layers of trust that Tubbo desperately craved but he knew every insult that would stick when the festival came around. And we all know how Tubbo internalized and took the blame for everything people blamed him off.

That’s his fatal flaw- he was so loyal to L’manburg as a country, including its population, that in trying to make it better, he absorbed all of the problems. He’s not as bad as Schlatt or Wilbur because he tried to remain level headed and made decisions to benefit the majority. Even if those decisions backfired because of the constantly shifting world around them.

Also, Jack Manifold is LITERALLY manipulating Tubbo so that he can get close enough to Tommy to kill him, because he wants to take away the only thing Tubbo has left.

Tubbo already had everything else taken from him- his friends, his home, his earned title, but that’s not enough. This child has been fighting nonstop but the world will continue to step on him, unsatisfied until he has absolutely nothing left.

(Originally written 1/11/21)

Tl:dr: Tubbo just wants to be there for everyone but became a scapegoat for everyone’s issues, treated like an expendable accessory for war.

[kurowrites]

Kiss prompt: 8 & 11 : ) If you like?

kassandraescobat said: #1 for the kiss prompt wangxian.

8. being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterward

11. when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more

1. breaking the kiss to say something, staying so close that you’re murmuring into each other’s mouths

---

Lan Wangji was awake and had started to get ready for the day, sitting in front of a small bronze mirror to comb his hair, tie it up, and fix his hairpiece on top. It was quiet in the Jingshi, exactly as quiet as its name suggested. He had opened one of the blinds to the garden, letting in the lovely morning breeze and permitting him a beautiful view of the garden hung with morning mist, but he had been careful that no light reached the hidden corner where his bed was placed.

His husband was still asleep, as he so often was ere Lan Wangji woke him.

Lan Wangji sighed and tried not to think of the challenges of the day just yet. They had become more recently, meetings and petitions and negotiations that never seemed to end. He had accepted the position as Chief Cultivator, even though he could have lived his life without receiving that honour, and would have preferred to concentrate on matters he found more pressing.

Like his husband.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian had been married half a year ago not out of their own volition, but because politics had demanded it. It had been a sensible strategy, too; both the Gusu Lan and the Yunmeng Jiang sects had been doing very well ever since their marriage. Wei Wuxian’s deep friendship with the Young Lady at Koi Tower and Sect Leader Wen Qing at the Nightless City had helped balance out the relationships between the individual clans, and ever since, the people had enjoyed a time of unprecedented peace and prosperity.

The same could not be said for their personal relationship. Lan Wangji was married to a man whom he mostly remembered as a mischievous teen of fifteen, a boy he’d always had difficulty getting along with. And the Wei Wuxian that he knew now, the Wei Wuxian he was married to, was neither mischievous nor was he a teenager, but an exceptionally smart adult that carefully held himself at a distance from Lan Wangji.

And, if Lan Wangji was honest, that hurt him.

Marrying Wei Wuxian had been a sacrifice for the sake of his sect, his family, and the cultivation world as a whole. He could not pretend that had not been the case.

And yet, deep in his heart he had irrationally hoped that there might be something that could be salvaged of their former relationship. Wei Wuxian had once called Lan Wangji his friend. Perhaps they could return to that.

That hope had been destroyed quickly.

Wei Wuxian shared his marital bed, and yet he felt more distant than ever. Lan Wangji awoke to Wei Wuxian’s soft sleeping face every morning, and yet it was not his.

Finishing his morning toilet and fixing the remaining pieces of his clothing with another quiet sigh, he steeled himself and walked over to the dimmest corner of the Jingshi, to their bed.

Quietly, he said, “Wei Ying, it is time to get up.”

A small sound came from the blankets, but they did not move like they usually would. Wei Wuxian did not emerge from them, a little pale from sleep, his hair tousled adorably, unbefitting of a man of twenty-five.

Lan Wangji waited for a moment. When nothing happened, he spoke up again.

“Wei Ying. Are you awake?”

“No,” came the muffled answer from the blankets. “Tell Lan Qiren I’m sick.”

Lan Wangji tried to suppress an exasperated sigh, but it was difficult. What a childish thing to do, to lie in order to avoid work!

“Wei Wuxian,” Lan Wangji said in a warning tone.

“Lan Wangji,” came the cold answer. “Leave me. I’ll be up in a little bit.”

If anyone asked him, Lan Wangji would be unable to explain what exactly irritated him so much about Wei Wuxian’s words, but irritated him they did. He felt terribly petty even as he was doing it, but before he knew it, he had been compelled to grab the blanket that Wei Wuxian had covered himself with, and ripped it away.

It was evidently an action that Wei Wuxian had not expected from Lan Wangji, since the blanket easily came off, falling to the floor in front of the bed.

It also exposed the ugly truth to Lan Wangji.

Wei Wuxian had not been stubborn. He had been crying.

“Wei Ying!” Lan Wangji exclaimed in shock.

“Ugh,” Wei Wuxian croaked, quickly wiping his eyes with his sleeves. “Just leave me alone for a moment. I’ll be ready on time.”

But Lan Wangji could not do that. How could he? Wei Wuxian had been left alone too often recently, always at the end of the list of priorities ever since his marriage and his public allegiance to Gusu Lan. So instead of leaving, Lan Wangji sat down on the edge of the bed.

Wei Wuxian turned away from him, hiding his tear-streaked face. It was useless to hide, however, for his shoulders still occasionally hitched with suppressed sobs.

Lan Wangji had the strong desire to lay his hand on Wei Wuxian’s back and soothe him, just like his mother had sometimes done to him as a child, but he was unsure whether such an action would be welcome at all.

“Was it my doing?” he asked, a little desperate.

“No, Hanguang-jun is an unparalleled beacon of virtue and justice, as usual,” was Wei Wuxian’s answer, but the words felt terribly bitter to Lan Wangji.

“I am also your husband,” Lan Wangji reminded him. “I have a duty to care for your wellbeing, too.”

That statement was responded to with a disparaging huff.

“Do you now?” Wei Wuxian asked, his voice still bitter.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji said, pleading. He did not know what else to say. Of course he cared for Wei Wuxian’s wellbeing! He always had! Otherwise, he would never have been so strict with him during the Sunshot Campaign, trying to protect him from himself and everyone else.

But Wei Wuxian continued to give him the cold shoulder, his back stubbornly turned towards Lan Wangji.

“Wei Ying,” he tried again.

That elicited a sigh out of Wei Wuxian, and he finally turned around. His eyes were still full of tears, one of them slipping down his cheek as he sat up, and all Lan Wangji could do was try his best to keep his hands to himself.

“Will you hold me for a moment?” Wei Wuxian asked with the smallest voice that Lan Wangji had ever heard from him.

The ‘yes’ got stuck in his throat, but Lan Wangji had enough presence of mind to lift his arms, to be just inviting enough for Wei Wuxian to tip forwards, right into Lan Wangji’s embrace.

His face was hot, even through Lan Wangji’s robes, and his body shook lightly.

Not unlike a rabbit, Lan Wangji thought to himself as he enveloped Wei Wuxian in a hug, shamelessly burying his nose in Wei Wuxian’s hair. He held onto Wei Wuxian tightly, unwilling to ease his hold, afraid of what would happen if he let go. If Wei Wuxian would disappear, just as elusive as the morning mist outside his window.

They stayed like that for a moment, quiet and unmoving, until Wei Wuxian finally sighed.

“Sorry,” he said. “I was just being overly dramatic.”

Lan Wangji felt like that was not an accurate assessment of the situation, however. He knew there had been tension between them lately. He knew that their relationship was not as it could be. As it had been once, perhaps.

“I care,” he found himself saying. “Even if it is of no consequence.”

Wei Wuxian lifted his head and stared at Lan Wangji with wide, watery eyes.

“You make it very hard to keep my distance, you know.”

That gave Lan Wangji pause.

Distance? He thought in confusion. Why would Wei Ying need to keep his distance?

The next thing he knew were soft lips pressing against his own.

It was over after a moment.

Wei Wuxian drew back, averting his eyes. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have–”

It was easy to reel him back in. Lan Wangji’s arms were still around Wei Wuxian. It was easy to hold him close and chase after the sensation of these lips on his own, because it only meant not to hold himself back. This time, when they kissed again, Wei Wuxian’s arms found their way around Lan Wangji’s neck, holding him just as tight as Lan Wangji held Wei Wuxian.

When they finally parted for air, Lan Wangji pressed his forehead against Wei Wuxian’s, unwilling to let him go too far, and lightly swayed back and forth. He was unable to open his eyes, afraid of what he might find once he did. But Wei Wuxian didn’t push him away, didn’t try to escape, but kept holding onto Lan Wangji just as tightly.

A sigh dropped from his mouth.

“Very hard to keep my distance,” he murmured.

Lan Wangji opened his eyes to look at Wei Wuxian, still close enough that his mouth was right there, so very, very kissable. It was foolish to resist, when it was right there. So he kissed Wei Wuxian again.

Once, twice, three times.

If kisses were what his husband needed for his wellbeing, he thought to himself as he wiped the last tears out of the corners of Wei Wuxian’s now smiling eyes, then he would be willing to perform his duties very conscientiously.

“You know that everyone is waiting for Hanguang-jun in the main hall?” Wei Wuxian whispered into his mouth when they parted after another kiss. “They’ll be soo angry if we’re late.”

Lan Wangji decided to silence that protest with more soft kisses.

They could wait for once, he felt, while he brought his private affairs into order.

That was also an important political issue, after all.

[scarabbai]

Jamil... I’m sorry, but I can’t do this anymore.

I can’t keep pretending. I can’t go on cutting my own tongue out. I can’t blind myself for you any longer.

I know it’s not my place to say these things, to have these thoughts cross my mind at all, but I’m stretched too thin. I can’t keep the people in our dorm pacified forever. My duty is to worm my way into everyone’s lives, to learn their secrets and use them to your advantage, but it’s getting harder to keep track of everything. The distinctions between dorm members get fuzzier with every dispute. The complaints are blending together. Everyone’s emotions are a tangled mess of hatred and fear, and my words are beginning to have trouble soothing them. It’s taking longer to reassure everyone after your outbursts. The excuses I make for you aren’t as effective anymore. Writing your apologies is becoming impossible. I can’t maintain this peace, if it can even be called peace. I can’t keep this entire place running. I’m the only one tending to everyone’s needs and smoothing over every argument, and I’m tired.

I’m so tired.

Jamil, I promise I’m still a good servant. I’m pouring my all into following your orders. I eavesdrop on every conversation I can to search for signs of rebellion. I act as your eyes to catch anyone who steps out of line. I give up my sleep to patrol the halls every night, and I punish rulebreakers without mercy. I’m doing everything in my power to carry out your will, but I can’t stand seeing suffering everywhere I go. Lying to their faces is simple. Making empty promises is cake. Smiling when I know nothing will get better is easier than breathing. Seeing the pain in their eyes isn’t. Hearing the despair in their shaking voices, holding them and wiping away their tears when they break down sobbing from stress, learning about their dire situations—medication running out; grandmother very ill; family business on the verge of going under—and how helpless and trapped they feel, doing all this while knowing I’m the reason for their agony...

My heart can’t take it. This act is tearing me apart.

Being a bystander is killing me.

Jamil, you know I’m loyal. You know I’ve always been there for you, supporting you for as long as we’ve known each other. Even when you don’t ask me to, even when you don’t notice my efforts at all, I give you whatever you need. I tell you whatever you want to hear. I do whatever it takes to keep you safe, to keep things going your way, to keep you from falling apart. I know you better than anyone else. I know how hard you’ve worked to get here, every success and failure, every night you cried yourself to sleep.

You’re kinder than everyone thinks. Your touch is gentle and your words are sweet. You get embarrassed when I catch you practicing a dance I taught you. You like to sing with me. You glow with joy when I give you praise. You smile and gaze at me with such soft eyes.

I want to make myself useful so you’ll keep looking at me. I want to mean something to you, to stay relevant in your life forever. I want to give you the world.

The way they look at you, seeing nothing but a cruel tyrant, a monster... It hurts too much. They don’t know who you really are. They only know the person you’ve become, a person who hates more than he loves, and that person is unrecognizable, even to me.

Desperation has changed you.

Jamil, your wishes mean everything to me. I would do anything to grant them, to make you happy, to deserve my place by your side. I would go to the ends of the earth to fulfill your wildest desires. I would lie, cheat, and steal for your sake. If you ever were to command it, I would even give you my life. For you I would sacrifice everything I have, everything I am, at the drop of a hat. So long as what you ask of me involves me alone, I would do all that and more. My devotion to you is deep enough.

But I can’t speak for others. I have no right to make their choices for them, to lay claim to lives that are not mine, to force them to listen to you when their wellbeing or the lives of their loved ones are at stake. It’s just too much. I can’t justify this. We’re hurting people. Did you know that, Jamil? Did you realize they didn’t lie when they pleaded for their freedom? That their anguish was true? We’ve gone too far. We could have blood on our hands already.

Even the genie of the lamp was said to have lines he refused to cross. I think I’ve finally found mine.

I wish I didn’t have to betray you, but I need to help them.

Please forgive me.

[linkspooky]

could you do a meta on dabi,hawks and endeavor theres something interesting about thoses three there was even a chapter about those three theres a common occurance about them that i can't put into words

There is a connection between all three of them.

So a follow up from my last post, there’s a question of agency between the three of them. [x]

Definition of Agency 

What agency means is essentially the freedom and capacity to live or act in a defined world. In a literature sense, we can interpret this in a few different ways. We could look at a specific character in a novel, and see his/her ability to make choices, act freely, and control their respective lives within the novel. The character is able to engage socially, take action on desired things, and have control of their own life. [x].

Basically, let’s look at it from a different angle than the last post though. When it comes to the connection between Endeavor, Dabi, and Hawks, just as important as Agency, their ability to make choices is motivation. 

Definition of Motivation

In literature, “motivation” is defined as a reason behind a character’s specific action or behavior. This type of behavior is characterized by the character’s own consent and willingness to do something.

There are two types of motivation: one is intrinsic, while the other one is extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is linked to personal pleasure, enjoyment and interest, while extrinsic motivation is linked to numerous other possibilities. Extrinsic motivation comes from some physical reward such as money, power, or lust. Intrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is inspired by some internal reward such as knowledge, pride, or spiritual or emotional peace or wellbeing, etc. [x]

So basically now we’re looking at the characters from two angles, number one what choices do they have room to make, and number two in those limited choices what motivates them to eventually make the choices that they do. 

So, I would say the connection between the three of them is that they all chose to pursue being a hero in some way, yes even Dabi who is a villain cares about the idea of becoming a hero. 

Now Endeavor’s are the hardest to discern, since his reasoning to want to be a hero is vague at best. Trying my best to discern though, it seems that Endeavor one, worked really hard to be a hero and believed his hard work should have been rewarded with some sort of feeling of accomplishment. It’s the same reason that Bakugo freaked out so badly when Todoroki did not face him at his strongest in the tournament, because his own feeling of accoplishment was wrong because he didn’t believe he earned it.

So, it’s really hard to discern, but the idea of being number one itself was soething that Endeavor was after, and facing the fact that really no matter how hard he strives he would be at his limit and unable to surpass All Might who was just better and stronger than him in any way took a number out on his ego. This is my best attempt at explanation, it’s not really clear what Endeavor wants out of being a hero. 

It’s a thematic idea that is explored in MHA at least, the desire to be the strongest. Whether or not that desire itself is a good or bad thing, but also because that strong drive can drive others to do terrible things. 

The best way I can explain it though is that Endeavor believes he’s entitled to a certain sense of accomplishment after all that hard work he did to be number one, but because there was such a huge gap in front of him he was never able to reach that accomplishment and thus he took his feelings out on the others around him. 

Basically, despite Horikoshi trying to present Endeavor as a character motivated by heroic means at this point, pretty much every bit of his past characterization contradicts this. Endeavor is pretty consistently characterized as an abuser, it’s all about his feelings and his own sense of accomplishment and worth, and he uses Shoto and everybody else in his family to those ends. There’s malice in the way he treats Shoto, especially when Shoto implies he has desires of his own. Basically, Endeavor attacked his family out of a perceived lack of respect from the world, and a perceived lack of feeling of accomplishment which he thought he was owed due to all of his hard work. So, there’s something especially toxic about Endeavor’s motivation to be a hero, one could even call it toxic masculinity if MHA were like… more thematically consistent about anything.

But let’s simplify for a moment and say Endeavor’s motivation for becoming a hero is really in line with the society of quirks we’re presented with in MHA. That he has a strong quirk, and he works hard, therefore he should rise to the top with his strong quirk and be stronger than anyone else, and defeat bad guys and that is what a hero is. Endeavor followed that line of thinkng from society perfectly, but he wasn’t able to become the strongest. 

He’s obsessed with quirks and strength the same way society is, and even forced a quirk marriage which was said to be a negative aspect of humanity’s budding obsession with quirks and wanting quirks to be stronger. 

So, Endeavor’s motivation for becoming a hero is entirely personal. However, Endeavor had the most agency to make his choice out of the three I’m presenting here. There was no pressuring circumstances for him to do what he did, except for the pressure that Endeavor put on himself. Endeavor was basically free to choose to become anything, and he chose to become a hero. Unlike Dabi, and Hawks he could have just become a hero and been satisfied with that especially due to the lack of external pressure but it was never enough for him. 

Endeavor who had the most agency to choose, also destroyed the agency of others around him, his own family. He may be responsible for creating Touya/Dabi (the rest of this post is going to go forward on this assumption) but he definitely used his wealth of agency, fame, money, resources, in order to completely destroy and cut short the agency of both Rei and Todoroki for his own purposes.

Also it’s important to note that villains are usually the ones which limit the agency of others. Villains seize agency in order to act and create the circumstances, and heroes respond to those circumstances. Except the greatest antagonist to Shoto’s own arcs, the one that created the circumstances that he has to respond to, is the hero Endeavor. Then next on the line is Hawks. Hawks also has shaky at best motivations for being a hero, and partially selfish ones but for entirely different reasons. 

As elaborated on in the last post, Hawks was raised by the hero system, saved fro a troubled home, and told because he had talent he simply had to become a hero. 

So, if Hawks has empty motivations in this case it’s because his own agency is limited. From childhood he’s almost always done what others have asked for him, and his ability to make his own decisions, or be informed by his own motivations was pretty much nonexistant. His name is his hero name, he’s entirely Hawks.

Why is Hawks always resolving things on his own? He’s been taught by the system that there’s absolutely nobody else he can rely on. He’s been used as a tool from the beginning so the best way he can adapt to this is by making himself into the most efficient tool possible. “Well, I’ll still be a tool in the end but at least I’ll be a pretty damn good tool.” with the idea that if he does his job well enough he might be able to break free from the system that he’s become such a vital part of. 

Hawks has to work as efficiently as possible, he’s obsessed with saving others and being the best even if he has to do all the work on his own and only stick his sidekicks with clean up. He’s basically tied to the job, and also of the idea of doing everything all on his own, simply because he has the ability to do so.

The irony being that Hawks obsesses over the idea of freedom, he works tirelessly so others can be free, he encourages them to be free and not waste themselves, and yet Hawks has no freedom of his own, specifically because he was born with those wings. The symbol of his freedom his wings, are also a curse to him. 

So, Hawks entire motivation is agency, he wants to have agency, to be motivated to do things for his own reasons and not fro the sake of othes. He believes that people who are strong enough to fight for their own reasons are the ones that can be relied on and put people at ease but he is not one of them.

Which would explain Hawks strange opinion of Endeavor, even though once again Endeavor is somebody who created a broken home, a child abuser, the same kind of home that Hawks came from and is responsible for his current situation.

Simply put, Endeavor had agency and drive and he was able to decide those things for himself, something that Hawks is fundamentally lacking in and unable to see himself as able to do.

Hawks is so exhausted he can’t even bring himself to try, and he falsely sees Endeavor as somebody who did try even when it was impossible. So, he envies that part of him. Even after wearing himself out completely to become somebody who saves almost everyone and willingly sacrifices all of those feathers at a drop of a hat, Hawks still does not believe he’s done enough and lacks the energy to go further, and thinks he has to rely on someone like Endeavor with a big flashy power in order to set people at ease. Hawks from the beginning was setting up and manipulating Endeavor to be a symbol. He pretty much says so.

Hawks is more suited for the position, he’s more political, tactical, he genuinely wants to save people, he’s helpful to them and a friendly face, the only thing he’s lacking is being a total powerhouse which is what society thinks it needs right now, so he sets up Endeavor in his place while he works behind the scenes. 

So, what Hawks is motivated by is being powerful enough to put people at ease, however the choices Hawks makes in order to fulfill that motivation are completely opposite. 

His motivation is to have more agency as a hero, but his choices are always one that specifically limit his own agency. If Endeavor is a character that has all the agency in the world and abuses it to limit the agency of others, then Hawks is a character that limits his own agency over and over again even though all he desires is freedom. Both of these characters are making these choices because they revolve around the concept of being a hero. 

Hawks also, was limited in his agency, in what he could become because of the circumstances of his birth and he was born with a body and quirk ideal for becoming a hero, and he still feels pressure and aftereffects of that upbringing even as an adult. 

Then finally we bring ourselves to Dabi/Touya. 

If Shoto and Hawks were born to become heroes, then Dabi specifically was born not to be a hero. His body would never be able to handle it. Not only to the point of not having an ideal combination of quirks and being a failure like Natsu and Fuyumi, but to the point of being physically disabled. His greater fire actively harms him because of the lack of his body and his own constitution, and the person who decided to make this risky choice to blend quirks was Endeavor, not caring about the child’s well being but rather how the child was born to fulfill his own ambitions. So, Dabi was given a shitty body since birth which limited his choices of what he could become in a really quirk obsessed society, and his father did this on purpose to him and threw him out as a failure when he did not turn out the right way.

So, the person so far born with the least agency in their situation is Touya. Whether or not he wanted to become a hero is not really a choice to him because his quirk destroys his own body, and his father dismissed him as a failure. 

He’s also the inverse of Hawks, he was adopted became a hero whether he wanted to or not because he was born with a quirk that was ideal for the job. Dabi was abandoned and neglected because he was born with a quirk unideal for being a hero, and also his body would actively be destroyed if he pursued that path. 

So, his response is to believe as Stain did that because he was excluded, that society itself was wrong about him and wrong about heroes. 

Dabi’s introduction tells us two things, he doesn’t like people who aren’t dedicated to a cause, and who kill without reason like Himiko instantly being put off by her.

Second that he’s driven the same way that the hero killer is. That even acting as a villain, he wants to make a society where heroes act like real heroes. 

It’s even apparent in his taunts to Aizawa, he tells Aizawa to act like a proper hero, to save his students. What’s a better call to action for a hero anyway than a proper antagonist. 

He praises Aizawa for acting properly as a hero should. So, of allt he characters Dabi had the least amount of agency, that’s not to say he was forced to doing what he did, but he was the least suited to becoming a hero, and even then there’s still some part of Dabi that wants heroes to act properly, and there’s a cause he acts for that wants to affect some positive change. 

Yet, at the same time born with the least agency, still motivated by cause and wanting heroes to act like heroes, Dabi is also of the three the character that burns up the most agency. Villains often have the most agency, because they don’t care whose agency they trample over to get what they want. In order for Dabi to have his current freedom, he had to walk over others and kill them, that became a necessary step to acheiving his goals in his mind.

Let’s say Dabi is acting like a vigilante here and giving him the most benefit of the doubt. That Stain did not like villains that acted without just cause either, so a bunch of low brand thieves only out to steal for themselves aren’t doing anything to improve society so they’re unnecessary, they’re in the way so Dabi burns them. Dabi’s ultimate goal of improving society becomes built on their sacrifice then, his agency comes from taking theirs away.

This is something Dabi is questioned about twice, you’re taking away living breathing people from the world, people with connections, all for your own purposes. No other member of the villain’s league is really questioned on their murders the way Dabi is. Because Dabi is the one who is trying to justify his killings as being for an improvement to society, the most out of anybody in the league. 

Dabi’s own life was cut short, and his response now is to cut short the lives of others, for some perceived higher purpose of his. However, even still he differs from Endeavor, because of all the implicaitons that Dabi himself knows what he’s doing is wrong is feels guilty about it, and is actively destroying his own body in the process, Endeavor and Shoto both have one burn scar, Dabi’s entire body is covered in them. 

Dabi’s too are inherently selfish and self driven motivation. He wants to correct the hero system yes, but only because the hero system is what created him, and he knows those cracks exist because he’s the one that fell through them. As much as it would benefit everybody, just like Hawks it’s still a deeply personal grudge created by his own circumstances. 

So, Endeavor sacrificed the agency of others. Hawks sacrifices his own agency. And in his wild bid for freedom from his circumstances, Dabi is the one who makes the most radical choices. Born the son of a hero, he did the unthinkable and cast away all of society’s restrictions to become a villain instead. In order to walk that path he actively devours the agency of others around him. At the same time, he’s also limiting his own agency because he’s pushing his body and mind to their natural in born limits. Dabi acts both self destructive, and destructive of everything else around him. In order to gain agency, he destroys himself and others to get the agency he was denied when he was younger. 

Yet, all three of these characters are still connected by their want to be a hero. They share a revolving motivation though each of them took a drastically different path. 

[atopearth]

Samurai Love Ballad Party Part 10 - Sanada Yukimura Act 2

Yukimura is as silly and serious as always, and Saizo and his brother love to tease him as usual🤣 I guess this will focus on the aftermath of the loss of Shingen and Nobunaga, since Yukimura’s father thinks that this is the time to ally themselves with the Tokugawa but Yukimura doesn’t want to because he was a part of the motion that led to Shingen’s death. Yukimura’s agony isn’t unwarranted but his father is right that they need to focus on the present… I’ve missed Sasuke and Saizo so much, I love them! But yeah… Really can’t blame Yukimura for getting so mad during negotiations with Ieyasu when he dropped the heroine’s handmade donuts on purpose in spite, that’s something Yukimura definitely won’t stand for! It’s not good for negotiations but I don’t blame Yukimura for doing that, he’s that kinda person and it’s because he’s that kind of person that I love him😊 But even more impressive is how Yukimura handled the situation! He got mad, but he still ate up the donuts from the floor as if it was nothing, just because he didn’t want the heroine’s efforts and hard work to be for naught. He’s such a great guy😭😭

It’s terrible that the Sanada must sacrifice something in order to ally with either the Tokugawa or the Uesugi since they are too small and have too less power now… But sigh😭 It’s too difficult to have them give an important strategic area to the Tokugawa, so most likely they’ll have to agree with the condition to hand over a hostage to the Uesugi and Yukimura will be the one to go… But it’s very likely that the heroine is pregnant… What to dooo? So glad that he finally chased her back instead of letting her leave to protect him, but omg, so cute when he was so strict about her not using knives since it might stab her in the stomach🤣 Then he gets angry at the onion for tempting the heroine to cook hahaha.

I really love Kanetsugu so I’m really happy that Yukimura and Kanetsugu acknowledge each other for the men that they are and are able to even confide with each other on child rearing hahaha. It’s so cute how Yukimura is learning so much from him🤣 No wonder why Yukimura was so concerned over the heroine’s wellbeing when she was pregnant, his own mother hadn’t rested well or been taken care of properly after birth and that eventually led to her weakening health and her death… It’s kinda saddening that Yukimura and Nobuyuki have sided with different people, but I guess like Yukimura said, the only reassuring thing is that no matter who wins, the Sanada line will continue…

It’s saddening that Yukimura had lost the battle, but at least he survived to see the heroine and Momo again! But to think that a thief would steal the last bit of their money to survive… I do have to agree with the heroine that it was so saddening to hear Yukimura say that his spear isn’t something he really needs to care about as much anymore… But it’s nice to see them enjoy some peaceful days until Ieyasu came to get him to aid him in his wars to assert his Divine Rule. But Hideyoshi has also requested Yukimura to fight alongside him against Ieyasu too… What will he do? So sweet of Shingen to have thought so far ahead and have sent sake to Nobuyuki to give to Yukimura on his wedding day since he most likely won’t be able to see it😢 I’m glad that their wedding was truly a joyous occasion, the Nobunaga and Mitsuhide Act 2 weddings seemed rather solemn after all haha. But depending on Yukimura’s choice, I guess it could be the last time they can truly be happy altogether…

It couldn’t be helped with the person that he is that Yukimura would choose to side with Hideyoshi at Osaka Castle…but the most heartbreaking thing is knowing that he will most likely die😭 It hits even closer to home since I recently went to Japan and saw the rebuilt Osaka Castle, of which it told of the times it had been burnt down, in which the first was from the war with the Tokugawa😢 Yukimura’s tenacity is really one to be feared, he lost the castle, is injured badly, yet he relentlessly was able to push against the forces and get to Ieyasu. The only crappy thing is that he’s resolved himself to death and has asked Saizo to apologise on behalf of him to the heroine that he won’t be able to return to her, which is just devastating. I know Yukimura is a samurai that can only live on the battlefield and cannot live a normal peaceful life, but I’m still sad… I actually feel sorry for Ieyasu, he already voiced to Yukimura that he did not want to see him on the battlefield, so seeing him there made him hesitate, especially since he’s seen Yukimura’s kid and enjoys the heroine’s cooking, it’s hard to kill the man who has such a cute family waiting for him especially when you saw them so recently…

The only good thing that comes out of this is that there is finally a clear victory for the Tokugawa and now he truly possesses the Divine rule to stop and protect everyone because he is the one that will unite all under him… It was pretty terrible to see Ieyasu hand Yukimura’s blood soaked headband back to the heroine though, the one she so painstakingly mended and cared for, it was just heartbreaking… Sometimes I wonder whether it was really necessary for Yukimura to step into this war again, and maybe really, it wasn’t necessary, but he does have enough of a name to warrant authority and followers and I guess it was inevitable that he’d have to go back to the battlefield eventually since that is his duty and what he has lived for his whole life… Since it must have been so difficult for the heroine to have to live without him and raise their child…

Present day Yukimura is still the silliest guy ever hahaha, still so earnest, kind and self sacrificing, it reminds me of why I loved him so much, so it’s nice to see that they can get their happy ending there. Overall, Yukimura’s Act 2 was okay, I liked how there was the addition of a child and how cute Yukimura was as a doting father. The heroine and Yukimura were still so shy and blushy with each other despite them having a child already so that was kinda weird at times, since it literally made me think they actually didn’t do it at all until the baby popped lmao. It was also nice to see Yukimura’s warrior spirit and also I guess the continuation of history after both Nobunaga and Mitsuhide died… But yeah, it was cute and nice, better than Mitsuhide’s Act 2, but Nobunaga’s Act 2 is my favourite right now.

[businessfrontrunners]

Bestselling Author Dr. Tonya Crombie Teaches Stressed-Out Parents of Anxious Children How to Find Peace in the Midst of the COVID-19 Storm

https://authoritypresswire.com/?p=34062 (NEW YORK). Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Institutes of Health estimated that 1 in 3 children will be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder by the time they are age 18. But now, with the ongoing interruption to normal school routines and chronic social isolation caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, children are feeling more anxious than ever. A recent meta-analysis conducted by the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that “[c]hildren and adolescents are probably more likely to experience high rates of depression and most likely anxiety during and after enforced isolation ends.” Even more concerning, Child Mind Institute (childmind.org) reports that 80% of anxious children and adolescents do not get the help they need. Yet one expert says that, with a little help, parents are the ones best suited to create the emotional and psychological support systems for calming their anxious children - provided those parents learn how to manage their own anxiety first. “Parents of anxious children must care for themselves, both mentally and physically, so they can provide a calm harbor for a child in the midst of the storm,” says Dr. Tonya Crombie, a certified life coach, speaker, and bestselling author of Stop Worrying About Your Anxious Child: How to Manage Your Child’s Anxiety So You Can Finally Relax. “While most parents are perfectly willing to sacrifice their own wellbeing for the sake of their child, parents don’t realize that they are not able to be the parent they need to be for their anxious child unless they care for themselves first.” For Dr. Crombie, anxiety in parents and children is not just a professional or an academic interest, but is very personal. She is the mom of two teenagers who have struggled with stress, overwhelm, and anxiety - one of whom recently tested positive for COVID-19. “My experience as a parent of anxious children informs all of my work as a coach, speaker, and writer,” she says. “At the heart of everything I do is the desire to help people thrive in the high-pressure, stressful world in which we live.” For both parents and children who need help managing anxious thoughts, Dr. Crombie offers the following quick steps: Recognize, Remember, Return. First: Recognize the anxious feelings when they occur. “So many of us have been operating with constant feelings of stress and anxiety that those feelings tend to go unnoticed,” Dr. Crombie says. “We operate on autopilot so much of the time that we hardly notice we are worrying about the future, or our loved ones, or our job. Simply becoming aware and recognizing this when it happens is more than half the battle.” Second: Remember that anxiety is a normal response to stress. According to Dr. Crombie, the human brain is designed to be vigilant to potential danger, and the body interprets this instinctual need for self-preservation as anxiety. “Your brain is wired to do this. It’s totally normal,” she says. “Instead of trying to battle your design, accepting that this is normal and that your brain and body are working exactly the way they are supposed to actually starts to make you feel a little better.” Third: Return to the present. Dr. Crombie explains that anxious thoughts usually come from dwelling on things that may or may not happen in the future. The secret is to come back to the present, and one way to do that is to focus on breathing. “Concentrate on taking long, slow, deep breaths. Truly notice the inhale and the exhale. Feel the temperature of the air as you breath in and out. Notice the rise and fall of your chest,” she suggests. “This super-easy breathing technique can help you return to the present.” And, according to Dr. Crombie, this focus technique can be utilized with any of the physical senses, not just breathing. “Simply notice what you see in great detail right in this moment. Or focus on what you hear right now. Or focus on what you feel right now - for example, feel your clothes against your skin, or the weight of your body as you stand or sit,” she suggests. “One simple tip I use is to feel my feet by wiggling my toes. Any these techniques can bring you out of the fearful future and back into the peaceful present.” “Anxiety is on the rise in American children as well as with the parents that are watching their kids in this struggle,” says Dr. Paul M. Friedberg, a licensed psychologist with more than 25 years of experience working with children and parents. “In her book, Dr. Crombie presents insightful, practical help that will make parents feel more grounded and have a better understanding of how they place ‘meaning’ into their children’s behavior and lives. I will recommend this book to parents in my practice who continue to struggle with their child’s anxiety.” In spite of the hardships brought about by the pandemic, Dr. Crombie believes there is a potential for good to come from it. “When I look at the children who have gone through so much the past year - school closures, loss of loved ones, loss of family income, and so many other losses - I see the potential for these children to rise above these hardships much in the way that children overcame the hardships of the Great Depression to become the greatest generation,” Dr. Crombie says. “I sincerely believe that if we parents are able to give our kids the right kinds of assistance, without overdoing it, this generation of kids will astound us with how well they ultimately come through these difficult times.” Tonya Crombie has a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology and an MBA. She is a certified life coach through the Martha Beck Institute and is a requested speaker on the topics of parenting anxious children, leadership, identification and management of strengths, and navigating the way forward when the way is not clear.  Dr. Crombie’s work has been featured in The Invisible Illness, P.S. I Love You, Be Unique, and Candour. To connect with Dr. Tonya Crombie, or to learn more about her book, Stop Worrying About Your Anxious Child: How to Manage Your Child’s Anxiety So You Can Finally Relax, visit GuidanceForTheFuture.com.

[connectcommunications]

5 top tips when working from home or remotely

For some, working remotely or working from home seemed like a dream too good to ever come true. No more early starts to miss the rush hour, no more hitting the snooze button 2 or 3 times too many and then actually being caught in the rush hour. No more sitting next to the unwashed new guy who still after 2 months hadn’t worked out where your personal space started and ended.

Then the pandemic struck and a huge swathe of the population suddenly found themselves battling with Zoom calls and dodgy internet connections whilst their kids demolished the broadband playing Fortnite instead of home-schooling. The dream of remote working was suddenly real but with it came the realisation that sometimes, being around people in an office, having a routine, having somewhere away from the house is actually quite nice.

Could our telephone answering service help whilst you’re working remotely?

Here at Connect we have a team of virtual receptionists currently working remotely from home where they can and a smaller team that are based in the office. The few staff that we do still have in the office are mainly operational to help ensure that our telephone answering service remains operating at the professional levels our clients expect and rely on, especially our medical and other key worker clients.

We recognise that many businesses may be struggling with their inbound telephone calls whilst working away from the office and so we continue to offer a free trial of up to 30 days of our service.

  5 top tips to follow when working from home or remotely

I’ve worked remotely for Connect Call Answering for the last 10 years or so and, I’ll be honest, I’ve never really given much thought until recent events about the guide and tips I’m about to bestow on you below. Having scoured the internet to compile the tips that follow I can safely say I seriously need to take a spoonful or 2 of my own advice!

  Workspace

Routine

Boundaries

Communicate more

Switch off

1. Workspace

Don’t work from the kitchen table

OK, first and foremost this is one area where I did learn early on that you really do need a good, tidy workspace to get things done, for the sake of your own sanity and also wellbeing. Just as it is in the office, it’s important that you are not only comfortable but also sitting correctly. Find a desk and chair that allow you to keep your posture straight, don’t be sat on your sofa or bed slouched over a laptop.

  Get a room

It really is far easier to stay focussed on work if you have a dedicated desk and or room for you to work from. This, however, may simply not be available for many, we don’t all have an extra room in the house just waiting to be commandeered.

I’m lucky, we had a small dining room that was never used (does anyone actually eat in a dining room these days?) and so that has become my office but my wife had to make space as there was no question of us sharing a room! She took my son’s room, much to his dismay, during the day which meant he had to be up and out by 8:30am. Not ideal but it means she has somewhere where she can shut the door and know that she won’t be disturbed when she’s on an important telephone call- OK, that’s a lie: Somewhere where she won’t be disturbed most of the time.

  Think about what’s behind you

This doesn’t really concern me as I don’t do a lot of video conferencing but my wife does and so it’s important to keep the background acceptable. It doesn’t need to be spotless, everyone knows the situation we are all in, but there shouldn’t be piles of dirty clothes or a poster of your son’s favourite WWE wrestler in the background (it’s Roman Reigns by the way).

2. Routine

Have a wash

Get up, get showered, get dressed and have some breakfast. I’m bad for this, mainly as I start at 5am and move around the house like a stealth Ninja trying to avoid waking anyone up, but rolling out of bed and straight onto your computer is not advisable. It’s important to have a routine in the morning as similar as you would do if you were going into the office.

Try to wake up at the same time as you would normally, does that mean you have a spare hour or so to kill as you’re not needing to commute? Great, prepare your lunch now, do some exercise or take some extra time with the kids but don’t waste the gift of that extra time by lazing about in bed!

  Schedule your work day

What sort of a morning person are you: productive, lethargic, happy or grumpy? Try and schedule your tasks to suit the times of your day when it suits you best. Save more demanding or thoughtful tasks for when your brain works best, if that’s first thing in the morning for you then great for others it might be later in the day once they’ve managed to settle all the mundane tasks in their inbox. If your main job is answering telephone calls, as our virtual receptionists do, then make sure you have got out of bed early enough to wake up properly and make that extra cup of coffee!

  Take a break

This is a common theme and I’ll repeat it later but don’t sacrifice your breaks and lunches just because you are working from home. Stick to your scheduled lunch and get away from your desk, let co-workers know you’re away for lunch if they are likely to try and contact you. If restrictions allow, get out for a walk or go down to the shops. Would you sit at your desk for lunch in the office? Hopefully not but if you did remember this for when you do go back into the office- don’t!

3. Boundaries

Know you place

Or rather make sure everyone knows you place, time and space. Make a point of telling the kids (if they’ll listen) when you’re working and that you really can’t be disturbed unless of course it’s an emergency. Don’t just close the door, actually get a “Do Not Disturb” sign and stick it to your door.

  Give me peace

Personally I work best when I have complete peace and quiet but others find having some background music can help them to concentrate. I did try playing music to try and drown out any noise the kids were making but that failed as the kids hear my music and think that it’s fair game to come and disturb me. “But you were playing music, must be playtime”, no – I’m playing music to remove you from my thoughts! Genuinely I invested in earmuffs so that, along with the closed door and “Do Not Disturb” sign, I have some hope of silence.

4. Communicate more

Out of sight, out of mind

It’s easy to feel forgotten when working remotely and so it’s important to keep up the communication with co-workers and your managers. From both a mental well-being aspect for you but also to show your work that you’re not sitting with your feet up all day watching daytime TV. Make a point of detailing your daily/weekly goals or projects and then on a daily or weekly basis record this, either by email, internal CRM or at least through conversation with your peers.

  Office chat

We are all social animals, if one thing the past year has taught us is that the need for human interaction shouldn’t be taken for granted. Being in the office allows you to chat, catch up on the latest gossip and that’s important for our mental health. Try to make time to chat with co-workers (you might even now realise they could be classed as your friends, well some at least might be) either on the phone, video conferencing or even a Whatsapp group chat.

It’s important to feel part of the team so don’t feel bad that a telephone call that could have taken 5 minutes takes an additional 3 or 4 because you were catching up on a personal level.

5. Switch off

Walk away from the desk!

Far too easily the line between whether we are “at work” or not can blur when working remotely. Just as it is important to stick to scheduled breaks, it’s equally important to switch off when you are finished for the day or week and also to make sure work colleagues know and respect your working hours. Get away from your desk at breaks, lunch and the end of the working day.

  Be harsh

If you find that you are still receiving telephone calls or emails that expect an immediate response outside of your working hours – ignore them, better still, simply switch off your computer. I found, to my detriment, that by giving the impression you are always available, always keen to help that co-workers just assume that means you are contactable 24/7 no matter how small the enquiry.

A few years ago I was on my annual holiday with the family in Turkey, I’d forgotten to take the divert off my phone and so I found myself taking calls by the poolside from the office trying to pick my brains about a problem they were having 2,000 miles away. It was my own fault as, up until then, I really was always available, even when I wasn’t scheduled to be working and that was all because I was working from home and didn’t ever really switch off.

When will things return to normal?

Hopefully the restrictions that we are all living under won’t last too much longer, however I don’t expect things will ever return to how they were before. There has been a fundamental shift in how a lot of us work and for some that means the prospect that remote working may become the new norm with time in the office reduced to a handful of days a month or perhaps less.

So with the prospect of more remote working becoming the long-term norm remember to continue to communicate with colleagues as if you were in the office, get up and get dressed as if you were in the office and start, finish and physically leave work as if you were in the office.

Page Last Updated: January 13th, 2021

from Telephone Answering Service | UK Phone Call Professionals https://www.connect-communications.co.uk/blog/5-top-tips-when-working-from-home-or-remotely/ via https://www.connect-communications.co.uk

[rather-impertinent]

Forgiveness

A/N: Good morning friends!! 💓 this fic is for day three of @fuckyeahdwightcaroline’s fan work week for ‘Horace’. This is set in 3x09, before the scene where Dwight carries Horace. Here we have pissed!Caroline and OhShitShesPissed!Dwight. Sorry about the layout and any mistakes, I’m in Glasgow and have to post from my phone! Enjoy! xo

~~~~~~~~~~~ Caroline Enys resigned from pacing in front of the window and moved to stand in front of the fireplace. She picked up the poker that she had just bought from Drake Carne - which she had paid a considerably excessive sum for - insisting that its purchase was urgently required, though it was not. After tapping it anxiously against her hand, she firmly decided that should Dwight return from his volunteering venture alive, she would beat him senseless with it; so that he may remain bedridden in Killewarren and never again consider participating in such recklessness.

All thoughts of violence vanished as she heard the clicking of hooves outside. She did not stop to glance out of the window but instead headed straight for the main door with Horace in tow. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as a servant opened the door. Was this Dwight’s horse? Or some other’s, here to bear bad news? The worst news?

She shielded her eyes from sun and waited for the rider to appear from the stables. Horace stood guard in front of her, growling softly as the crunch of the gravel became louder. Caroline held her breath and wrung her hands, as she would Dwight’s neck, once she knew he was safe.

Her heart thumped with relief as he appeared around the corner, a bright smile forming on his face as he saw her. He immediately quickened his pace. She, too, sprinted unashamedly towards him; as did Horace, his fat tail wagging excitedly at the sight of his treat-giver.

She flung herself into his arms. “My love!” she exclaimed.

He caught her with ease and clung to her. “My Caroline.” He held her a while before placing her back on the ground and kissing her, glad to be home.

She caressed his face, his biceps, his chest, his torso. Now fully satisfied that he was unharmed, the flow of anger outweighed the flow of blood within her veins.

Dwight stiffened as he recognised the change in her demeanour. “Caroline, I am sor-”

She held her hand up. “No, Dr. Enys, I beg you. Do not complete that sentence. Do not utter such a blatant falsehood! You are not in the least bit sorry! If you were, you would not have volunteered!”

Dwight physically winced at the tone of her voice: fury mixed with injury. “My love, you misunderstand, in this case-”

“Oh, I misunderstand, do I? Shall we see what I do understand, then?” He did not answer. “You, along with other notable reckless persons, volunteered on behalf of Sir Francis Basset to defend Cornwall from a French fleet. With this came the risk of possible injury or even death. This you knew and this you accepted without any care for me, your wife, nor my condition nor, least of all, yourself! Did I misunderstand this?”

He hesitated. “Yes,” he stated, the matter was much more complex than that. She stared at him as though she might strike him. “I suppose I can see why you’re upset…,” he admitted guilty. “But it was a false alarm,” he reminded her, his tone light.

She was not at all impressed; firstly, by his complete disregard for the dangers of his expedition and secondly, for his infuriating flippancy over the matter. “Come, Horace.” She snapped her fingers and the pug immediately shadowed her, as he always did.

“Where are you going?” Dwight gaped as Caroline and Horace quickly wandered off without him, leaving him standing alone.

“Horace and I are heading for a pleasant family walk. We’d hate to trouble you for your attendance, since there are no doubt more important matters elsewhere.”

Dwight swore softly under his breath, he would have to do his fair share of grovelling in order to truly earn her forgiveness. He jogged to catch up with them. “Caroline, I know you are angry but please allow me to explain,” he pleaded.

Caroline stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him, but maintained some distance. “Oh,” she said, a smile on her face. Oh, no. Not good. “So now you have time to explain? Thank Heavens, I thought you might yet again relay some distressing - possibly life altering - news and then simply stalk away without a reasonable explanation nor proper consideration of my opinions.”

Dwight gulped and considered his next words carefully. “I am sorry for that,” he started sincerely. “But, Caroline, my love, you understand my loyalty to Ross. In a number of ways, we both would not be standing here together without his assistance, his interference.” He took a deep breath and continued. “But you must also understand my duty as an officer; to train others for combat, to protect my country, my home, my friends, the people I love.”

“Of course I understand.” Truthfully she did not understand the latter, nor did she care to try. The best way to protect those he loved was to keep out of harm’s way. The only thing that she understood was that his venture was a complete disregard of his wellbeing and, in turn, of her own. She silently picked up a basket to gather some strawberries and stalked away from him.

As it dawned on Dwight that his wife did not understand - had not accepted his apology - he stopped and placed his hands on his hips, contemplating his next move. Suddenly, an idea came to his mind: he jogged down the path which lead to the water but stopped halfway to pick some flowers. He swore repeatedly as the stalks of the roses cut his fingers.

He sprinted to catch up with his wife and Horace, who were playing fetch, seemingly unfazed by his absence, though it was not so. He tapped her gently on the shoulder and waited for her to face him. “I’m sorry,” he said wholeheartedly, out of breath, timidly gifting her the hand picked bouquet. “Please, forgive me.” The emotion in his voice was raw and evident- he hated nothing more in all the world than quarrelling with her.

She accepted the bouquet from him and breathed in its scent, fighting to keep a smile off her face as she noticed the small drops of blood on his fingers. “Hm,” she said finally, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows. She placed the beautiful flowers into her basket and carried on walking, though noticeably slower this time.

Dwight followed her. “Perhaps we could decorate the parlour with them,” he suggested. “And host a dinner or some such event?” he enticed. His conscience teased him for his weakness in regards to his wife; he loathed societal affairs but knew of Caroline’s love for them, and would at present do anything to earn her forgiveness.

She looked sideways at him, a genuine smile on her face. “I should like that very much, my dear,” she commented quietly. She knew of his dislike for such things and appreciated the sacrifice of his own comfort for the sake of her happiness. It may seem a small gesture to some people but for Dwight it was not so. For now, she decided, she would forgive him.

He smiled, knowing he’d won his battle. “You may, of course, invite whoever you wish, my love.”

“Even the Warleggans?” she challenged.

“If by the Warleggans you are referring to Elizabeth, little Valentine and Geoffrey Charles, though he is technically a Poldark, then certainly.”

She laughed at him. “What is your quarrel with George? I confess I sometimes find him arrogant, boring and embarrassingly eager. Yet I do not find him as irksome as you, Ross and Demelza do. What is his offence?”

“It is a rather long story, and one I’ve no care at present to relay.”

Caroline shrugged indifferently. “As you wish.” She picked up a small branch and meant to throw it for Horace, who had seemingly vanished. “Where is he?” she asked worriedly, glancing around the vast garden.

Dwight caught Horace’s plump tail sticking out of a flower bed in the distance. He whistled loudly at him. “Horace! Come here!” he chided. Horace obeyed and stumbled happily back towards his master, who groaned as he noticed the half eaten pansy in the pug’s mouth, which would no doubt make him vomit later. Dwight wiped his face. “Stupid dog,” he muttered.

“Leave my baby alone!” Caroline cried indignantly.

Dwight giggled. “Ok, I will leave your baby alone,” he emphasised. He closed the distance between them and gently placed his hand on her flat stomach. “But I’m afraid I cannot promise the same for our baby,” he whispered happily.

Caroline smiled brightly at him. Seeing his joy, the love in his eyes, made the constant nausea seem worth it. She had definitely forgiven him. It was definitely due to her fluctuating hormones, though. She smirked at him. “Oh? And what shall you do, Dr. Enys?”

He wrapped his arms around her from behind as they continued to walk slowly around the grounds. Horace barked furiously at having been excluded from such an embrace and so Caroline flung the small stick high into the air and far into the distance for him to chase. “Well,” Dwight continued, once Horace had gone off on his quest. “First and foremost, I shall care for her mother and then-”

Caroline stopped and glanced at him over her shoulder. “Her?” she repeated, amused.

“Yes,” Dwight replied confidently. “Her.”

“And what makes you think so?”

“I am a physician, I know such things,” he mocked authoritatively. She poked him gently in the ribs with her elbow. “It is just a feeling,” he admitted, blushing slightly.

After a moment of quiet, Caroline said: “I suspicion so, too.”

Dwight grinned and kissed her gently, intertwining their fingers. He moved to walk by her side and they walked back in happy silence, perfectly content with each other’s company. As they approached the front of the house, Horace - who had been wailing for food alone for five minutes - interrupted their peace with relentless barking. He approached Dwight and stood on his hind legs, begging the doctor to pick him up. Dwight sighed and obliged, scooping the rotund animal into his arms. Caroline scratched her pet’s ears fondly as Dwight held the door open for her.

“What do you think, my precious?” she cooed at her pug as she entered the house. “Should you be content with a sister for company?” Horace barked and licked Caroline’s cheek. The Enyses laughed heartily. “I shall take that as a yes.”

[myaekingheart]

66. Something Intriguing Thus Takes Root

               Dusk overtook the sky as Rei ventured home. It felt nice to finally be returning to her own apartment for once, even if the empty apartment across the hall still haunted her. But she didn’t want to think about that right now. She locked Kaminoki and glanced at the sunset, a somber smile touching her lips. It would be another lonely night.

               Kakashi had been so busy lately, and she could tell he was feeling torn. I’m fine, don’t worry about me, she tried to reassure him, but it wasn’t much help. He still felt unresolved on the whole matter. The village needed him, but so did Rei. He hated to see her suffer through her grief alone.

               A dog barked in the distance and Rei pressed her hand to the pouch at her hip. When Kakashi returned from his mission, he insisted she keep the summoning scroll he gave her just in case. He didn’t expect to catch a break any time soon, and he felt safer knowing Pakkun was at her beck and call should she need him. It was the least he could do.

               She wondered where her boyfriend might be now, what he was doing, if he was thinking about her. Her arms ached to feel his touch, her mouth watering for the taste of him. She looked to the stars flickering overheard and whispered, “Please come home, soon.”

               “You’re missing someone” a voice then called; it was a definite statement rather than a question. Rei whipped around, the voice unfamiliar, but found no immediate source. Her hand snapped to the holster on her thigh, fully prepared for a fight. “Stay your weapons, woman. I’m not going to hurt you” he then said, and out of the shadows stepped an old man with a bandage across his eye. He held his arm in some sort of sling and supported his weight upon a cane.

               “Can I help you?” Rei asked, surveying the area. There was no one else in sight, and for a moment it terrified her. ANBU or not, being approached by strange men at nightfall was never welcome. Her mind flashed with a million different ways in which he could abuse her if he tried.

               “You are Rei Natsuki” he said, “granddaughter of Teiko, and a member of the ANBU black ops.” Again, he said this more as a statement rather than a question. “I have heard a great deal about you.”

               Oh, fuck, here we go, she thought to herself. “Listen, if you’re here to berate me for being psycho, I’m afraid I’m out of office and won’t be back until never o’clock” she snapped. She turned to walk away from him, desperate to get out of this encounter as quickly as possible, but then said something that froze her in her tracks.

               “Quite the opposite, actually. I think you’re rather talented, and I want to recruit you” he said. Rei slowly turned back around to face him, cocking a brow in suspicion. “In case you haven’t remembered, I am Danzo Shimura and I am in charge of Root, a subsidiary of the ANBU” he explained. “Lord Third implemented a new training program before we could meet, otherwise I would have approached you sooner. I’ve been keeping a close eye on you, and I believe you are not reaching your full potential under the fifth hokage’s jurisdiction. I would like you to join Root, and work under my command. I think you are much better suited for my line of work.”

               Rei’s heart pounded in her chest. She had, of course, been familiar with Root and heard Danzo’s name tossed around before, but this was an entirely new level. “What makes you so sure I’m a good fit for this?” she asked. She tried to restrain herself from showing her interest.

               A strange smile touched Danzo’s lips as he explained, “The purpose of Root is the total, unhindered protection of Konoha. We work from the shadows in order to keep the ultimate peace and eliminate threats before they become problems. I know of your affinity with the chameleon jutsu—you seem to be rather gifted with invisible work, which is a main tenet of Root. I also know you are much stronger than many give you credit for. I’m well aware you took down a byakugan user when you were only fourteen. Quite impressive, indeed.”

               Rei’s face turned red—she was unaware others had known about that. It wasn’t something she necessarily flaunted. If anything, she actually wished it had never happened. “Well…” she started, then asked, “I thought Root mainly recruited members from a young age. Like a lifelong program. I’m twenty-four, it would too late for me.”

               “Not necessarily” Danzo replied. “I have made exceptions for special cases.” The way he said that made Rei’s skin crawl, and she recoiled a few paces. Danzo followed, closing the distance. “I suggest you think long and hard about what I am offering. I will not do this again. You are wasting your time working under the fifth hokage. You belong in Root—unrestricted. Someplace where you can reach your full potential.

               My full potential. Had she really been limiting herself all these years? She wasn’t entirely sure. “What about my friends and family?” she then asked. As far as she knew, members of Root sacrificed everything.

               “Well, sometimes difficult decisions must be made” Danzo replied. “But would you really be happy staying stagnant the rest of your life? How much are you willing to pay for power?” A shiver ran down Rei’s spine. She chewed her bottom lip and considered his offer. She couldn’t care less for power, personally, and was unsure of whether or not she could stand to sacrifice everything. Grandma Teiko’s words echoed in her ears. You have come too far and worked far too hard to give up everything now. But what if giving up everything meant advancing in her career? Feeling the recognition she had for so long yearned for? “I know what Lady Tsunade has done for you” Danzo then said, “Deferring you from your duties for the sake of grieving. She is not doing this for your wellbeing, like she might have you believe. She is simply afraid of the immense amount of power you now wield. If you were under my command, I would implore you to use that power to its full advantage. You are much stronger than anyone else is allowing you to be. Don’t waste your time on people who are only trying to hold you back, Rei Natsuki.” Danzo shuffled forward and placed a hand on Rei’s shoulder, sending a chill throughout her entire body. Yet in that moment, something inside of her shifted. Danzo’s words began swirling through her brain, adjusting her perception of her entire life. She walked the rest of the way home in a strange, misty haze.

               Rei had already made up her mind by the time Kakashi returned. She cooked a simple dinner for the both of them, but all the whie seemed distant and distracted. If he didn’t know any better, he’d assume she was hiding something from him. As they finished their food, he finally asked, “Is everything okay?”

               “Yeah…everything’s fine” she said, though she couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. She took his empty bowl with hers and approached the kitchen sink.

               “You seem quiet” he said. “Did something happen while I was gone?”

               “I’m just tired” she replied. “But, uh…there was one thing that happened.” She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do this. She really shouldn’t say anything. Ideally, she would just fade into oblivion without having to explain anything to anyone. She fully expected to be questioned the moment she revealed her choice.

               Kakashi cocked a brow and shifted to get a better look at her, asking “Oh? What happened? Was it something bad?” He quickly scanned her body, searching for any injuries he may have missed. He couldn’t catch anything. He prayed she hadn’t been hurt in other ways.

               “No” Rei shook her head. She lingered at the kitchen counter, feeling his eyes burning into her back. She didn’t have the strength to meet them. “Actually, it’s really good. Sort of like a promotion type thing.”

               A promotion? Kakashi furrowed his brows in thought. There wasn’t any rank higher than ANBU except for hokage, which he knew she had not reached. Tsunade hadn’t even been in office for a year. And even if that was the case, putting someone of her current mental state in a position of authority was perhaps the stupidest decision. He awaited further explanation, a mild panic growing inside of him.

               “I was approached with an offer a few days ago” Rei explained, “and I think it sounds really good. A Danzo Shimura flagged me down on my way home, said he wanted me to join his faction of the black ops and…and I think I’m going to do it.”

               Almost involuntarily, Kakashi leapt to his feet and shouted, “No!” Rei froze, her heart pounding in her chest. She gripped the edge of the kitchen sink in an effort to quell her anxiety. The abrupt tension was almost palpable. Sighing, Kakashi rubbed his forehead and added hesitantly, “I mean…have you really thought through all of this?”

               “Are you insinuating that I’m being hasty?” she asked, voice sharper than she expected it to be.

               “I’m not trying to insinuate anything” Kakashi replied, “I just don’t think this is a good idea at all.”

               “Well, I do” Rei replied. She turned on the faucet and began rinsing out their bowls. The minute she shut the tap off, she could feel Kakashi looming behind her, his hot breath on the back of her neck.

               “How much do you really know about Danzo and Root?” he asked. “I think if you were aware of the truth, you would have a much different answer.”

               “I know enough” she said. “I know that Lady Tsunade is holding me back from achieving my true potential, and that I’m capable of more than people give me credit for. Root can give me what the ANBU can’t. I belong there.”

               “No, you belong here. With me” Kakashi said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. Rei wiggled in his grasp. “Root isn’t even supposed to exist anymore. If you go through with this, you’ll risk being branded a felon. Root does dirty work. It’s not a respectable place for a kunoichi.”

               “What do you know?” Rei fired back, pushing herself out of his grasp. “This is exactly the kind of shit Danzo was talking about! With everyone limiting me, trying to hold me back! Why can’t you just be happy for me? Why can’t you accept that I’m finally heading in the right direction? This is a good thing, Kakashi! Or are you just scared I might actually become better than you and you want to hold me down?”

               “Rei!” Kakashi snapped, voice stern. There was fury in his eyes. “I’d want nothing more than for you to surpass me, but you have serious delusions about what you’re getting yourself into. Danzo sweet-talked you into believing this was the right path, but it’s not.  Root will strip you down to nothing and force you to kill people who don’t deserve to die. People who have done absolutely nothing wrong. You’ll be forced to sacrifice everything. It’s suicide.”

               The word rang in Rei’s ears like a funeral dirge. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. She clapped her hands over her ears and groaned, shaking her head. “I don’t want to hear anything else you have to say, Kakashi” she snapped.

               “Why?” he asked. “Because you can’t handle the truth?”

               “No, because I’m tired of you spitting lies!” she shouted back. “There was a time when you were actually supportive of me. I thought you loved me. If you did, you wouldn’t be acting like such an ass right now!”

               “I’m saying these things because I love you” he insisted. “Are you really willing to sell your soul for criminal activity? You’ll never be able to see me or your parents or your grandmother ever again. Our entire future will be thrown out the window. Is that what you really want?”

               “What would you rather I do, then? Kill myself? Because this is the much better option” Rei replied. “At least this way, I can do something worthwhile with my time. And I don’t have to interact with anyone or burden them ever again.”

               This was far too much. Kakashi was beginning to really lose his cool. “I can’t stand here and watch you do this to yourself” he said. “I won’t let you go through with this.”

               “Oh yeah?” she asked. “As if you dictate my every move? You know, I think you seriously underestimate my determination, Kakashi. You put me down when we were kids, told me I could never make it as a ninja, but I did it, didn’t I? This is just the next step. If you’re not going to support me, then that’s fine, but just know I can do this with or without you.”

               What was it going to take to convince her that this was a bad idea? He glanced to the sake on top of her fridge and wondered if she had been drinking before he arrived. No one should ever make big life decisions under the influence. As he gazed back at her, crazed and manic, his heartbeat increased with every passing second. He couldn’t stand to lose her, especially not like this. Their entire future was at stake here. He thought of the ring tucked away in his dresser. He cursed himself for not having it on him now. If he did, he would get down on one knee this instant and ask her to marry him, ask her to spend the rest of her life with him, to put away these stupid ideas and choose him instead. He didn’t want to face another day without her by his side and he refused to watch her waste away in a prison like Root. His hands twitched at his sides, desperate for something, anything, but it became clear to him there was only one thing he could manage in that moment. He surged forward, ripping his mask off, and pressed his lips to hers hard.

               Rei resisted at first, then fell into the kiss slowly but surely. When he finally pulled away, she looked at him dizzy and dreamy, a sadness in her eyes. He pressed his forehead to hers and cupped her cheek. “Don’t do this” he whispered. “Don’t leave. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

               She fought back the tears that were starting to surface, tightening her grip on his forearm. “I can’t…I don’t want to…I mean…there’s nothing else I can do.”

               “You act like this is the only way out” he whispered. “But it’s not…I promise, it’s not. Just please…stay with me. Don’t forget how long you’ve wanted this. Don’t forget all those years you pushed and fought…you just wanted to prove yourself, and now you have. I was stupid to have kept my distance all those years. Now that I have you, I can’t afford to lose you. Not now…not ever.”

               “Please, Kakashi…” she whispered, her voice cracking. “Please, I just…please don’t put me in a cage.”

               Sighing, Kakashi closed his eyes and ran his fingers through her hair, holding her close. “I’m not” he replied, “But I refuse to watch you put yourself in danger like this. Danzo is lying, he’s just trying to get a rise out of you. He wants you to think this is a good idea for his own sake. He’s just going to use you. He’s going to snuff out that will of fire in you…” Here, he pressed a hand to her chest, her heart beating fast beneath his palm. “Don’t let anyone take that fire away.”

               By now, Rei couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. She broke down, falling into his arms, her face buried in his chest. “Why does this have to be so hard…?” she asked through her sobs. “Why can’t I think straight anymore? It’s all messed up…everything is so messed up…”

               “I know…I know” Kakashi whispered, pulling her into him. He rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head, inching closer to the bed so they could sit down. “Just please…trust me when I tell you this is not the right choice. Danzo approached me once, too, and tried to convince me to join Root. I saw through his lies and ended up stopping him from killing the third hokage. He’s dangerous, Rei, and I don’t want you anywhere near him. If he ever tries to approach you again…I’ll kill him myself if I have to.”

               Rei buried herself in Kakashi’s embrace, her head beginning to pound. This was too much. Everything was in a haze. Why couldn’t she think clearly? She heard Kakashi’s words, but she couldn’t comprehend them. She felt weak and small and infantile. She was dependent and worthless. She cried herself to sleep in his arms and that night, she did not dream.

[hasansonsuzceliktas]

My World as a Whole

“People should care about the peace and prosperity of other nations just as much as they do for their own nations. This is a necessity. People should try as much as possible to enhance the welfare of other nations as if they were their own. Any smart person would agree that there’s nothing to lose in working toward this ideal, because improving the welfare of the world’s nations also means working for your own peace and security. Unless there’s peace, harmony, and wellbeing in the world, nothing that a nation does for itself will bring it peace within. This is why I suggest, my friends, that the rulers of nations naturally prioritize the peace and wellbeing of their own nations. Even though they desire it for themselves, they should want the same result for other nations as well. In order to achieve this, we should consider the entirety of humanity as one being, with each nation being an organ in this being. If a fingertip is burned, the whole body is affected. This way of thinking protects people, nations, and governments from acting selfishly. Selfishness, whether on a personal or national scale, can always be considered evil.” Mustafa Kemal Atatürk I wonder if the horrible news about terror attacks and natural disasters backs up this truth? Much of the world reacted with horror to the bombings and attacks in Paris and Brussels, but why are we, the Turkish people, so mad that they did not react as much to the Ankara bombing. In turn, however, we also did not react to the bombings and attacks in Pakistan, Baghdad, and Nigeria. Everyone naturally reacts more to situations they feel close to, but we must understand and realize that we are all parts of one body. We cannot just be concerned with what’s happening in the gallbladder just because it’s closer to the liver while ignoring developments in the kidneys. The body is affected entirely—it lives as a whole and dies as a whole. We have to extend our comprehension to this whole, which includes the entirety of humanity! Whoever is planning it all, it considers the world as a whole and plans accordingly, and it feeds on the anger and pain of humanity. Yet it is not “Evil.” Did you know that? Sure, it pretends to be evil for the sake of the script, but the whole of humanity also gets a chance to seize upon an amazing virtue. Union, wholeness, peace, order and awareness, and much, much more. I just can’t see it all at first glance. We could get angry, embrace the pain, and attack others in fear, or we could instead see the reality of everything and accept the pain while moving toward helpful actions. We could find the time to practice love, compassion, humor, and our inner force. These are the most powerful weapons we have. Even though destruction sometimes seems like the solution, it’s never good in the long term. Fear feeds fear, anger begets more anger, and hate fuels more hate. Love, meanwhile, brings more love, compassion increases compassion, and calm actions promote calmness. This doesn’t mean we should look the other way and ignore whatever is happening, but when actions and choices are made without the conscience, awareness, and heart being involved, the result is usually awful. In the simplest way, even each step we take while walking down the street  affects the entire world in terms of the way we feel at that moment… For me personally, something I can do as I write these words is to realize how all people in all corners of this world make up my whole. I now see how I don’t care much about the tragic events in Baghdad, Pakistan, or Nigeria. My leg is bleeding and my back hurts, yet I’m worrying about my kidneys and liver and neglecting the rest of my body. How healthy can that be? Yet this does not mean I should tear myself apart in pain, curse, and blame others. No! I am responsible for everything I see, so I should act mindfully and consider the whole in my own work, the way I know. In this context, Paraguay is also important to me, as well as Nigeria, Egypt, Turkey, and Patagonia. Whatever it may be, I need to think globally, even though my current mission is in Anatolia. It can even be sufficient to draw God’s unconditional energy of love here, to Earth, and reflect it to the people in those trouble areas, hoping they will use this energy. I’m sure everybody can accomplish several things within their own spiritual and earthly plan. It is just waiting there, but more importantly, an eternal power waits for us to connect with it and draw it to Earth. For us to realize this, many souls sacrifice themselves around the world. I bow down before them with respect, all those poor souls in Ankara, Pakistan, Istanbul, Belgium, Iraq, and Nigeria, for sacrificing themselves so we can recognize the whole. May your service be our service… Read the full article

[arcelian]

Tales of the Abyss Hogwarts Houses

Here's something I've been working on for... almost two years apparently??  Some friends and I started an Abyss Harry Potter AU a while back, and sortinghatchats was brought up, and I ended up trying to sort all the main characters using their system.  So here it finally is!

Obvious disclaimer: while I've had feedback from said friends while making this it's still ultimately subjective; I've written explanations for all the main chars (protags and villains) but if you disagree with any of these that's okay! (and you should tell me because I will be interested!!)  There's also some bonus major npcs at the end that I didn't write explanations for bc they're.... bonus....

Also disclaimer: this uses sortinghatchats' two-house sorting system, so if you've never heard of it before you might want to look at this post first so you don't get confused by my references to primaries and secondaries and other stuff!

Full thing under the cut bc Long.

Heroes

Luke: Hufflepuff/Gryffindor

Luke is definitely Hufflepuff primary, even before his character development; he was so isolated that he didn’t really have much understanding of or attachment to anyone outside of the manor, but even then he was quick to empathize with others.  Even pre-development he shows concern for others’ wellbeing, shown most explicitly with Ion and with his reluctance to kill.  Most of his role models as a child are very discriminatory, so he tends towards that at first, but by the endgame he’s trying to save everyone, up to and including his enemies who are actively trying to kill him.

For secondary, he’s the most ridiculously stubborn Gryffindor I’ve ever seen, to the point that the rest of the party yelling at him about how he’s making incredibly stupid, impulsive decisions is a fairly regular occurrence, even post-development.  He almost has to be physically dragged out of Sheridan during the disaster, he chases Spinoza halfway across the world to prove a point to Asch, etc.

Tear: Gryffindor/Gryffindor

Tear is the sort of person who prioritizes justice and morality above anything else.  She is kind and apologetic to Luke when they first meet, then treats him coldly when she starts seeing him as rude and selfish, then is the first person to support his efforts to become a better person.  She’s also willing to turn against anyone, even her own family or the Order of Lorelei itself, if she feels their actions are unjust, and will do whatever it takes to correct that injustice.  She is capable of performing Slytherin when necessary, but she feels most at home in Gryffindor.

Guy: Slytherin/Hufflepuff (models/adopts Hufflepuff primary & Slytherin secondary)

Guy’s a bit hard to get a handle on at first, but if you look close he’s actually Slytherin primary; he’s just very warm and friendly in his regular interactions.  However, there’s really only a few people he’s very attached to; before and during the beginning of the game, that includes his family, but that expands to include Luke, and the rest of the core party to a lesser extent.  He also adopts Luke’s Hufflepuff mindset as a moral code for the part of the world he’s not emotionally invested in, which is what causes the confusion.

He is Hufflepuff secondary though, perfectly happy to spend years on his revenge plan, or sit in Aramis Spring for hours, or devote himself to helping Luke grow.  He can model Slytherin as a secondary as well, but in the end his more favoured tactic is calm, stubborn persistence.

Natalia: Gryffindor/Gryffindor (models Hufflepuff primary)

Natalia has Hufflepuff leanings as well, but ultimately she’s actually Gryffindor.  She values her people, yes, but that’s because she believes that it’s her duty as a princess, so she models Hufflepuff.  However, in the end, she puts that duty above all else, as she does when she chooses to fight Largo for the sake of her people, for example.  She does slip towards burning for a short time during the heritage plot, but manages to pull herself back up.  By the time of the peace conference, she’s returned to doing what Gryff/Gryffs do best: seeing injustice and marching straight in to right it.

Jade: Slytherin/Ravenclaw (models Ravenclaw primary)

Jade is almost always the smartest person in the room, and he takes pleasure in knowing that (and lording it over everyone else).  He’s also incredibly logical and methodical, trying to study a situation from every angle before deciding on a course of action - he just happens to have enough experience to do this incredibly quickly.  Overall Jade is a good example of a hypercompetent Ravenclaw secondary - his ability to draw on an extensive knowledge base is what makes him such an effective threat.

Despite that, when push comes to shove he really wants to protect his people over all else, and when he’s sufficiently stressed he begins to fall back on this instinct, which is why he’s a Slytherin primary with a Ravenclaw model, and not a Ravenclaw ignoring his gut feelings to do what’s logical to him.  For example, his pre-Rem conversation: “I would ask you to die, yes. If I were an Emperor, with a country to consider.  But as your friend, I feel compelled to stop you.”  Jade’s desire to follow his Ravenclaw-model idea of what is correct is ultimately secondary to his Slytherin instinct to protect his own.

This is also shown during his backstory: Nebilim was part of his inner circle, and her death and Jade’s failure at properly replicating her causes him to begin to Petrify.  His Ravenclaw model was built primarily as a way of coping with this loss and preventing it from happening again.

Interestingly enough, by the end of the game Jade’s added Luke to his inner circle, to the point of adopting some of Luke’s Hufflepuff primary tendencies, shown with his plans to resume his fomicry studies for the sake of the remaining replicas.

Anise: Slytherin/Slytherin

Anise is incredibly Slytherin!  Her major motivation is protecting Ion and her parents, and she will do anything to further that goal, including lying, spying, and sucking up to every rich person she meets.  Most of Anise’s struggles during the game are a result of her guilt over being forced to act against her inner circle (her parents, Ion, and eventually the rest of the party).  This comes to a head during her traitor subplot, when she’s forced to choose between her parents and Ion, shows off her Slytherin secondary with her plan to save both, and is heartbroken when her attempts ultimately fail.

Asch: Burned Slytherin/Gryffindor

Asch started off as a Slytherin primary, with his family, Natalia, and Van among his inner circle, but was Burned after the kidnapping incident and stopped trusting anyone.  During the events of the game, the group, especially Natalia, started to pull him out of the burned state, but he wasn’t able to do so entirely before the endgame.

On the other hand, Asch is, like Luke, a Gryffindor secondary.  He’s stubborn and hardheaded, refusing to follow any path but his own, especially when Luke is involved.  He’s also surprisingly blunt and honest, choosing to explain things to Luke at the beginning of the second act despite his personal feelings towards him.  Unfortunately, the combination of this secondary and his burnt Primary lead him to ignore the party’s suggestions and offers to help, which ultimately lead to his downfall.

Villains

Van: Burned Gryffindor/Hufflepuff

Van is a good example of a villainous Gryffindor.  When he was young he was likely an idealist, believing in the Score, or at least his family’s duty as descendants of Yulia - but when Hod was destroyed, he lost his faith in those duties and Burned his primary.  He chose to destroy the Score that betrayed him, and by extension the world that allowed it to exist, and refuses to be swayed by any outside arguments because he is no longer capable of seeing any other solution.  And he chooses to sacrifice anything that could get in the way of his goal, even his sister or the lord he was sworn to protect.

To reach that goal, Van spends years working his way up to the position of Commandant in the Order, charming and manipulating everyone around him, and just generally being a very effective Hufflepuff secondary.  Van’s most dangerous attribute is his relentlessness, with his ability to gain people’s trust as a close second.  Using it, he manages to draw the God-Generals and Mohs to his side, and several others including Luke only oppose him once they’re far enough from him to break free from his influence.

Interestingly enough, Van’s sorting is an inversion of Luke’s, with his Gryff/Puff opposing Luke’s Puff/Gryff.

Legretta: Burned Slytherin/Ravenclaw

Legretta is another Burned Slytherin primary, with her brother’s death and her confrontation with Van as the catalyst for her primary burning.  By the time the game happens she’s stopped being able to trust her heart, because she’s no longer sure whether her feelings are actually hers or if they’re being caused by the Score.  In the meantime, she’s adopted a rather Ravenclaw-like mindset in order to cope with her loss of trust: her reason for destroying the Score is to find out whether or not it’s manipulating her feelings.  The Score is the greatest threat to both her and her loved ones, and until she can confirm that she’s safe from it she refuses to let herself care about anyone.

She is, however, a true Ravenclaw in her secondary, with her gambit to follow Van to restore her primary showing that off best.  She is careful and methodical, following the plan to the best of her abilities, thorough in everything she does.  This even shows in the flashback to her assassination attempt, as she apparently did enough research beforehand into the Closed Score and Van’s actions to know that her brother’s death was foretold there.

Dist: Slytherin/Gryffindor

As a Slytherin primary, Dist is an extreme example of the ‘selfish ambition’ Slytherin stereotype.  His ultimate goal is to win back Jade’s approval, to make Jade happy; it’s the driving force behind all his actions.  Unfortunately for him, he fundamentally misunderstands who Jade is and what he wants, which is why he’s so unsuccessful in reaching that goal, but that is his goal regardless.

Dist also tries to emulate Jade’s Ravenclaw secondary, playing the part of the scheming mad scientist, but unfortunately for him he’s actually a Gryffindor secondary.  During most of his interactions with the party, he ends up resorting to stubborn tenaciousness to try and get what he wants.  He brags and taunts, throws robots around liberally, and absolutely refuses to consider any other options, no matter how many times Jade brushes him off.

Largo: Burned Gryffindor/Gryffindor

Like Natalia, Largo is both Gryffindor primary and secondary, but unlike her, his primary is Burned, caused by the loss of his wife and child.  He could no longer believe the Score was just, and he couldn’t trust his king to do what he believes is right.  Largo doesn’t follow Van because he believes Van’s plan is any better than the Score, though; it’s because he can no longer see a path that’s truly ‘right,’ so he latched onto Van’s convictions in an attempt to find stability.  He became the muscle of Van’s faction, preferring to use brute force and implacability over his allies’ less straightforward methods.

However, Largo still holds onto the shreds of his Gryffindor ideals.  He may not know for himself what is right, but he still places value on the idea of justice, and respects anyone who can wholeheartedly believe in something, even if he can’t agree with it.  It’s what convinced him to side with Van, but it also shows in his conversations around his final battle, as he praises Luke, Natalia, and the rest of the party for standing up for their own beliefs.

Sync: Burned Slytherin/Slytherin

Sync is a Burned Slytherin at its most extreme, caring for nothing and nobody, including himself.  Van comes the closest to being part of Sync’s circle, but in the end Sync follows him more because of their shared goal than out of any significant emotional attachment.  Sync’s Slytherin primary is also what makes it easy for him to follow Van’s plans - he has no loyalty or attachment to the world in general, and thus feels no guilt over destroying it.

Sync’s secondary is also Slytherin, as his preferred method is manipulating and toying with others instead of meeting them straight on.  He uses the curse slot he put on Guy to attack the party several times, sneaks onto the Tartarus during the planet core mission to wreak havoc, and after Ion’s death he uses their similar appearance to mess with Anise.

Arietta: Hufflepuff/Gryffindor

Arrietta as a Hufflepuff primary sounds odd at first, but that’s because her Puff loyalty is very different from the stereotype.  Like most Puffs, she cares about people - but Arietta’s definition of ‘people’ is almost exclusively her monster family and friends.  With a few exceptions, she doesn’t seem to see humans as worthy of her time or respect; it’s arguable that she doesn’t even perceive herself as ‘human,’ identifying with her monsters more.  Ion, of course, is the rare human exception, with the other God-Generals counting only through Van’s connection with Ion.  However, the rest of humanity is beneath her notice, and she treats the party with active malice.  They killed her family, after all - to Arietta it’s the humans that are the real monsters.

She also shows a Gryffindor-secondary tendency to run into things headfirst, trusting her gut to do what seems right in the moment instead of doing any complicated planning.  Arrietta fights the party mainly because of her grudge over her liger mother’s death, with Van’s plans being secondary.  She also gives the party information on a whim when Ion is threatened, and just as impulsively challenges Anise to a duel after Ion’s death.

Mohs: Hufflepuff/Slytherin

Mohs is the type of Hufflepuff that prioritizes loyalty to a community or group over loyalty to the people in it.  For him, his priority is the Order of Lorelei, and all its religious ideals and traditions - he is the only major faction leader who is unable to let go of the Score when everyone else chooses to abandon it, and he resorts to increasingly desperate measures to cling to his duty.  The Score is an intrinsic part of his identity, and he just can’t cope with the knowledge that it might not be the perfect promise he believed it was.  He spends the second half of the game trying desperately not to Burn, because if the Score is destroyed, his entire identity will go with it.

Meanwhile, his tendency to use whatever means possible - even if it’s underhanded or deceitful - to ensure the Score is carried out proves his Slytherin secondary.  Even beyond his following the Order’s rules of controlling information access for the Score’s sake, he manipulates King Ingobert to try and get rid of Luke, and even goes as far as allying with the God-Generals when he thinks it’ll help him succeed.

Other

Ion - Hufflepuff/Slytherin

Mieu - Slytherin/Hufflepuff

Peony - Hufflepuff/Slytherin

Ingobert - Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw

Duke Fabre - Gryffindor/Hufflepuff

Ginji & Noelle - Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw

Nephry - Gryffindor/Hufflepuff

Cecille - Slytherin/Hufflepuff

Frings - Gryffindor/Gryffindor

(also shoutout to jeredu lyra slip rei for Making Hogwarts AU and thus This Post Happen)

[openmydiary]

Just Pinned to Admission Test: Patriotism Essay Composition and Paragraph For Students Patriotism Paragraph: Patriotism is a noble virtue. It inspires a man to do everything for the wellbeing of the country. It is a quality that impels a man to sacrifice his own interest comfort pleasure and even his life for the sake of his country. A true patriot performs many duties for the country and compatriots. He is dutiful energetic and enthusiastic. He obeys the law pays taxes regularly and thinks for the country. He has profound love and sympathy for the compatriots. He always thinks for the development of the country. On the other hand an unpatriotic man causes harm to the country and compatriots. He is self-centered. He engages all his time in achieving his own interest. He is an enemy to the liberty and sovereignty of the country. He is hated by all. On the contrary a patriot is praised and honored by his compatriots because people consider him as their real friend. We should devote ourselves for the convenience of the country and compatriots. patriot Short PATRIOTISM Paragraph Hazrat Mohammad (Sm.) the Prophet of Islam said that Patriotism is a part of ones belief in Allah. According to the Sanskrit proverb ones mother and motherland are greater even than heaven. Patriotism means Love for ones native country. It is one of the great human virtues. Every nation or country needs patriots for its progress and prosperity. Patriots love their country and devote themselves to the welfare of their country. Ours is a poor and undeveloped country. It is beset with many problems. For solving these problems and turning this country into a prosperous one we need to have and practice patriotism. Supreme sacrifice and devotion are required on the part of the citizens of this country. Patriotism is a desirable (plat) virtue (H) but it should not overcome Pull our love for all humanity. It should be ensured that patriotism is not used by criminals (অপরধ) and scoundrels (দবতত; নতহন) for the evil purpose. In the past we have seen many cities to be ruined and many nations to be destroyed in the name of patriotism. Such things should never happen again. We should remain alert about it. BEST PATRIOTISM ESSAY Topics [Introduction. Characteristics. The feeling of patriotism. The influence of patriotism. The dignity of patriotism. Conclusion] Man can not live without love. The heart is made only to love to love ownself the family the other people of the society. In some cases he loves by choice or on condition. But there is one thing that he loves for no return his country. And this love is called patriotism. : Patriotism is mans inherent characteristic. The soil water sky air environment cultureall these things of a specific country nourish the people living therein. So mans body mind soul-the total beingis nurtured by various elements of his country. Consequently the love that he has for his country is full of gratefulness dutifulness and responsibility. Since all his wealth and achievement are a contribution to him by his country a patriot never hesitates to give away his wealth power reputation even his life for the good of his country. Thus patriotism becomes a part and parcel of his own identity. Patriotism is pure love. It is more than human love for other individual human beings. In the words of Edwin Arnold I love my life true but not more than I love my motherland. To be more specific the characteristics of which ornament patriotism include self-devotion boldness simplicity unconditionality gratefulness dutifulness respect responsibility and unselfishness. In times of danger or dependence a true patriot becomes ready to sacrifice everything. He does not hesitate a moment to sacrifice his wealth power happiness and all such. Selected Essays mundane possessions to protect the fame and independence of his country. As long as he is not able to regain the lost fame and independence of his country life seems unbearable to him. He falls on the enemies most fearlessly and ferociously like a valiant and no self-centered thought of selfishness can hinder him. To establish discipline happiness and to ensure affluence in peace times the patriot works his best towards the accomplishment of the overall goals of his country by exerting all his might honesty and capability. The incurable impetus in his mind drives him towards the fulfillment of his desire. Another major characteristic of patriotism is that of the patriot his own country is the best of all in the world. He compares his country to no other country in the world to justify her supremacy. To him the soil of his country is poorer than gold. He loves a dog of his motherland more than a priest of another country. To him the appeal of patriotism is beyond all reasoning. The patriotism of poets and authors is most reflected in their love of Nature and her beauty. They discern an inseparable bond of their motherland with their hearts; they compose songs poems stories novels and dramas on various beautiful aspects of their motherland. They thus render their patriotism imperishable and reflectable in the hearts of others. The feeling of a patriot about his motherland is best analogized by the feeling of a son about his mother. This feeling however gets much intensified in times of danger of the motherland or during the separation of the patriot from his motherland. Two noble diseases attack the patriot homesickness and nostalgia. The germ of these diseases retains in them the very essence of love and patriotism. The calmest aspect of patriotism takes shape in humble surrender like an innocent child. From this very sense of surrender does arise in him a sense of security and satisfaction. He breathes out: O the soil of my motherland To you I bow down my head and surrender my hand. Patriotism makes a man great grateful unselfish. It induces one to sacrifice everything-even his life to feel an in men oneness with all the racial economic or cultural differences. Narrowness fear superstition all these are broomed away by the forceful gust of patriotic love and emotion. If we look at the history we can see many patriots who laid down their lives for their motherland but their glory and nobleness are not at all clouded even today. For example Titumir the lion-hearted patriot fought the well-armed and well-equipped English soldiers only relying on his own patriotism boldness and confidence. Titumir was killed but not defeated. He died only to escape death forever. Being instigated by the same patriotic feeling Mir Kashim held his sword against the English and died. Haji Muhammad Muhsin the great philanthropic religious person of the sub-continent gave away all his wealth to the well-being of people of his motherland. He had tried hard to do good to his countrymen till the very day of his death. The most outstanding example of patriotic sacrifice would be left unmentioned if the sacrifice of the freedom-fighters of 1952 and 1971 were not referred to. These golden sons of Bangladesh have made a unique history of patriotism which the nation will never forget. Such an example of patriotism indeed is rare in the worlds history. A patriot is the most honourable man in the society. Even if he dies for the sake of his country he remains alive in the hearts of people. But it is to be remembered that patriots are not always to be looked for in the history; they can be seen all over the country and always. We all should respect them the perfect way. Patriotism Essay in Easy Words Topics: (Introduction Who is a patriot Patriotism should be put into practice It should not make a man narrow-minded Conclusion) Patriotism is one of the virtues of men. It means the love of ones motherland. It is a noble sentiment and a national virtue. The man who lacks it has indeed a dead soul. As Sir Walter Scott says: BREATHES there the man with soul so dead who never to himself hath said This is my own my native land: Patriotism: A true patriot loves his country and countrymen from the core of his heart. He is always ready to sacrifice his life for the welfare of his country. Everybody likes a patriot but hates a selfish man. A selfish man can not love his native country. He may be rich but nobody respects him. He may have vast wealth many titles but he is forgotten by all. Nobody laments for him and sings his praise. He is sometimes condemned as an enemy to the country. He seeks his own interest. But everybody praises a patriot. He places his country above everything. He is respected by his countrymen. He will be remembered from generation to generation. He is ever honored all over the world. Patriotism inflames a spirit of perfect sacrifice in a man. So we should practice the value of patriotism. If the national leaders the teachers the lawyers the doctors and the common people of the country are patriotic and understand the value of patriotism it will be easy to develop a country. Patriotism makes a man great grateful and unselfish. False patriotism is very dangerous. Many crimes have been committed in the name of patriotism. The word patriotism has been so much misused to fulfill the most selfish aims and narrow passions that Dr. Johnson said in disgust Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Every one of us should do something for the good and welfare of the country. We should bear in mind that mother and motherland are superior to heaven. So we should love and respect our country as well as those of others on the basic principles of coexistence. PATRIOTISM COMPOSITION /H2> Introduction: Hazrat Muhammad (Sm.) the Prophet of Islam said that Patriotism (6 ottela) is a part of ones belief in Allah. According to Sanskrit proverb ones mother and motherland are greater even than heaven. Patriotism means Love for ones native country. It is one of the great human virtues. Sir Walter Scott the famous English Poet wrote Breathes there the man with soul so dead Who never to himself hath said This is my own my native land Whose heart hath neer within him burned At home his footsteps he hath turned From wandering on a foreign land. A Patriot: A patriot is one who has patriotism. In other words one who loves and serves (C771 PCT) his country is a patriot. A patriot has certain qualities He loves his country more than his own life. He is ready to serve his motherland in every possible way. He is a grateful (Powe) man who is willing to repay the debt of his homeland by sacrificing (Fett) even his life for the welfare and emancipation of his mother country. He is a man of a superior breed who possesses sacrificing attitude and devotes (নযজত কর) himself for truth justice (নযযবচর) and freedom. Necessity of Patriotism: Every nation or country needs patriots for its progress and prosperity . Patriots love their country and devote themselves to the welfare of their country. Ours is a poor and undeveloped country. It is beset with many problems. For solving these problems and turning this country into a prosperous one we need to have and practice patriotism. Supreme Sacrifice and devotion is required on the part of the citizens of this country. Demerits: Patriotism beyond the limit of reason and justice can lead to wars with other nations. World War-II broke out as a result of Hitlers aggressive patriotism. In one of the letters to his friends George Washington wrote. A great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle (patriotism) alone. Great writer and philosopher Bernard Shaw said You will never have a quiet world till you knock this patriotism out of the human race. Patriotism may also make us unfair and ungenerous in our estimation of other people. Every nation or country has its distinctive quote characteristics and specialties. Every nation has the valuable contribution to the progress of human civilization. It is foolish and unjust (অনযয) to belittle (হন কর) a nation though it is very small. Conclusion: Patriotism is a desirable virtue but it should not overcome our love for all humanity. It should be ensured that patriotism is not used by criminals (অপরধ) and scoundrels (দবতত; নতহন) for the evil purpose. In the past we have seen many cities to be ruined and many nations to be destroyed in the name of patriotism. Such things should never happen again. We should remain alert about it. https://ift.tt/2mfYMSV